Monday, October 15, 2012

Chapter 2, Firebird

Here's chapter 2 from Firebird. You can find chapter 1 under September.

Chapter 2.

William and I walked through the trees in silence.

I was
rattled, and I could tell he was worried.

Cursed,
damned, outcast.

Those were
words that William had used to describe himself on more than one occasion, and
words that had floated through my mind back at the skating rink.

In a way,
those same words could be used to describe me.

I let my
mind stray to the words it had shied away from before.

Vampire.Sìdh.

They were
words that did not properly belong to this world.And yet I knew they were part of this world all the same.

William had
been one of the Sìdh once—a race of bright, immortal creatures of great
power.And then he had been attacked by
a vampire and turned—though how long ago this had occurred exactly, I did not
know.The Sìdh had cast him out, taken
his memories, left him to wander.He
had found an unexpected home with the vampires of Krov, Russia—the village in
which I had been born.

And I
myself was a descendent of the Sìdh.My
grandfather had been sent to Krov to found a line of humans with Sìdh
blood—something the Sìdh did every so many generations in fulfillment of an
ancient treaty.The children of such
unions were gifted with a unique ability, and an obligation, to combat evil
spirits of great strength and age—particularly one known as the kost.

A kost was
an evil spirit inhabiting—and animating—a human corpse.

My mother
was the only child of this particular Sìdh union, and like all those before
her, she was known as the Little Sun.She was ordained by her birth to be the protector of Krov, and in this
capacity she had fought and imprisoned a kost named Gleb Mstislav in his
family's crypt.And he had worked in
secret to poison and kill her.

My father
had died shortly before her in an ordinary accident—he had died while
hiking.And I had been left an orphan
in the care of my grandmother, GM, who knew nothing of my grandfather's true
nature or my mother's purpose in life.

And then
this past October Gleb had escaped from his crypt, aided by his son Timofei and
my own cousin Odette.Gleb had come
after me in Elspeth's Grove, hoping to kill me.My struggle with him took me to Russia, where William and I had
worked together to destroy him.

On my
mother's death, I had become the new Little Sun, though I didn't even know any
such thing existed.And shortly after
my sixteenth birthday I had begun to have visions, which I had learned were
meant to help me in my battle against creatures like Gleb.But after Gleb had been defeated, and I had
returned to Elspeth's Grove, the visions had stopped.

I had
thought that it was over—that the darkness in Krov was something I had left
behind forever.I had thought that I
was free to live in Elspeth's Grove in peace with William.

But there
were vampires from Krov in Elspeth's Grove now, and if they were telling me the
truth, there was a price on my head now.

I shivered
as I thought of Anton and Innokenti.How long had they been following William and me?How long had they been watching us?Had they seen me at the house with GM?

I didn't
want her to be in danger because of me.

"How
did they find us?" I asked William.

William
blinked as if I had startled him out of his train of thought."What was that?"

"Innokenti
and Anton," I said."How did
they find us?I'm sure I never told
Innokenti that I lived in Elspeth's Grove."

There was a
note of finality in William's voice, and I knew he would say no more about
Anton.

"What
do you think they really want from us?" I asked."Did you believe Innokenti when he said that someone is
after us, and that he wants to protect us?"

"No,"
William said."It's a scare
tactic.Innokenti's trying to trick us
into doing what he wants.There's no
one after us."

"Are
you sure about that?" I asked."One hundred percent sure?"

William
paused for a moment before answering.

"No."

I felt a
sense of dread settle over me."So
it's possible that Innokenti was telling the truth?"

"It is
possible—but it's a remote possibility.You asked me if I was one hundred percent sure it's a trick.I can't be one hundred percent sure.But I know Innokenti and the rest of
them.They don't act in the interests
of others—no matter what he says.They
only act to help themselves."

"Why
do you think they want us then?"

William
shook his head."I think it's best
if we don't find out."

We walked
in silence again for a time before I asked the question that was weighing the
heaviest on my mind.

"Do
you really think they'll just take no for an answer?"

William
looked at me, and a muscle worked in his jaw.

He did not
reply.

Soon the
trees we walked through began to thin, and we were in sight of my
neighborhood.The thought of vampires
lurking near my house left me feeling deeply uneasy.

I clutched
at William's sleeve, and he stopped walking.

"Do
you think Innokenti and Anton will leave Elspeth's Grove?Do you think they're watching us right
now?"

William
took my face in his hands."They
aren't nearby right now—I would hear them if they were.And I don't know what they are planning to
do, but you and your grandmother will be safe.I'll see to that."

"William,
if there really is a price on my head—if there really are two groups after
me—"

"William,
wait."I said."I don't think we can spring your
presence on GM like this.I don't have
any idea how she's going to react."

"Katie,
don't be ridiculous," William said, exasperated."Our situation is serious—manageable—but serious.And I need to be around more.I need to have your grandmother accept and
approve of my being here."

"I
know," I replied."That's why
we can't just surprise her today.It
won't do us any good if she throws you out of the house as soon as she sees
you.Let me talk to her alone
first.Come see me tomorrow at school,
and I'll let you know when you can see her."

William
started to protest, but I interrupted him.

"It
will be soon—I promise.Who knows?Maybe she'll even invite you to
dinner."

William
gave me a tolerant look."All
right, but make sure it is soon.The sooner everything is out in the open, the better."

"I'll
bring GM around," I said."I
promise."

We started
walking again, and we paused at the corner of my street, like we usually did.

"At
least I know now why you never let me walk you up to your door," William
said."I realize that I should
have been more suspicious."

"What
did you think before?" I asked.

William
shrugged."Humans are often
uncomfortable around vampires—even incomplete ones like me.I thought maybe she didn't like to look at
me, and you were tactfully not telling me."

"William,"
I said."I can't imagine anyone
not wanting to look at you."

William
shook his head.But I thought I could
see the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"I'll
see you tomorrow at school then, Katie," he said, turning to leave."I'll be watching to see that you and
your grandmother are safe tonight."

"William—I
have one more question."

He turned
back.

"What
about that last thing that Innokenti said?" I asked."What did he mean when he said that 'they'
will not allow me to remain with you.Who are 'they'?"

William
looked away from me."As I said, I
think this is all a trick.You don't
have to worry about what Innokenti said."

"But
you do have some idea of what he was implying?"

"I
have an idea—but I can't be sure.In
any event, you don't need to know.I'll
see you tomorrow, Katie."

William
gave me a small smile and walked off.

I stood
looking after him with a familiar sense of disappointment.I wished he had trusted me with his
suspicions.

Once
William had disappeared from view, I walked up to my house and went inside.

I paused in
the hall just by the door and tried to figure out how I was going to tell GM
that William was in Elspeth's Grove and that I had been seeing him.

I knew it
wasn't going to be easy.

To be fair
to GM, I didn't know for certain that she disliked William.But the two times she had spoken to him had
been difficult times, and William's entrance into our lives had coincided with
the return of the past for GM.My mother,
in her short life, had become deeply involved in the supernatural—she'd really
had no choice.And the supernatural was
something my grandmother had not believed in until it had burst into her house
in October in a way that she couldn't deny.

Having the
reanimated corpse of a man she knew to be dead break into her house was
something even GM couldn't ignore.

But GM was
stubborn, and her rational mind had reasserted itself after the initial shock
had worn off.She'd been able to
convince herself that all of the bizarre things she'd seen had a perfectly
normal explanation.

GM feared
that I would fall under the spell of the supernatural and be consumed by it as
my mother had been, and I had a feeling that GM saw William as part of that
supernatural threat.She didn't know
who and what he was, of course—to her he was just an ordinary young man.But he'd been involved in events that she'd
rather forget.

And I was
afraid that she would prefer that William were forgotten, too.

I continued
to stand by the door in an agony of indecision, trying to force my mind to
work.I tried to come up with just the
right words to convince GM that she had nothing to worry about—that William was
beneficial and not a danger.After a
few moments, I began to wonder if GM would come out to see me before I'd come
up with a plan—I knew she must have heard me come in.

But time
passed, and GM did not appear.

I took a
tentative step forward.It was a little
unusual for GM not to come see what I was up to as soon as I came home.But she had been distracted lately, and it
was pretty obvious to me that something was on her mind.When I had asked her about it, however, GM
had brushed me off rather expertly—she was very good at side-stepping
questions.

GM had a
way of talking around a topic and avoiding it without ever directly refusing to
talk about it.

In a way,
it was a gift.

After
another few moments had passed, I decided to take GM on without a plan.I would just go in determined not to
lose.After all, there was no good reason
for me not to see William—he had already saved my life twice.Surely, I could make her see that we were
better off with him than without him.

I walked
through the house, but I didn't find GM in any of the usual places.Eventually, I found GM in her office where I
had left her earlier, which was odd—she didn't usually spend much time there on
the weekends.She said she wanted to
keep her home life and her work life separate—even if they co-existed in the same
place.

As I
entered the office, GM's head was bent, and I could see that she was pouring
over a letter.GM had been receiving a
lot of letters lately—letters that she wouldn't talk about, but would hastily
tuck away.I could see an envelope on
the desk beside her.It had a number of
colorful stamps on it—as if it had been mailed from overseas.I wondered—could GM be receiving letters
from Russia?

"GM?"
I said quietly.

GM turned
in her chair, clearly startled.With
admirable economy of movement, she swept her letter back into its envelope, and
deposited the envelope into a drawer.

"Oh,
Katie!I didn't hear you come in.How was your first time ice skating?"

"It
was good," I said."I didn't
break anything, and I actually made it all the way around the rink several
times."I paused."Did you receive a letter from
Galina?"

GM stood
up."Letter?"

"Yes,"
I said."You had a letter in your
hand when I came in, and the stamps seemed to be foreign.I was wondering if maybe you'd heard from
Galina.I know you've been in contact
with her."

Galina
Golovnin had been a friend of my mother's.Although she was the same age as my mother, she had been a teacher of
sorts to her—helping my mother to develop and hone her powers as the Little
Sun.When I had encountered her in
Russia, she had helped me too.Galina's
life was deeply steeped in the supernatural, something GM had resented
bitterly.But since our recent trip to
Russia, GM's attitude toward Galina had relaxed a bit.She was no longer determined to banish
Galina to the past and pretend that she had never existed.

"Galina?"
GM said."Oh, no.No.I have not heard from her lately."

I waited
expectantly.

GM, who was
always so confident and self-possessed, suddenly seemed very unsure of
herself.She wrapped her fingers around
the silver cross she always wore and began to move the charm up and down on its
chain in an agitated fashion.She
looked around the room.Then she looked
back at me.

"Enough
about the letter.Forget about the
letter.Solnyshko, I have something to
tell you—to ask you, rather."

'Solnyshko'
was a Russian term of endearment that GM often used for me—one that lots of
people used.Oddly enough the word
literally meant 'little sun.'GM had
been using it for me for as long as I could remember.She had no idea how apt it really was.

I took a
deep breath."I have something to
tell you, too."

"Excellent.Then we have news to share with one
another.Let's go in the kitchen,
Solnyshko.Are you hungry?"

"No,
I'm not hungry," I said, as GM shepherded me out of her office.

"Some
tea, then," GM said."It is
always good to have tea when one talks."

I wasn't
really keen on the idea of having tea.I'd lost my taste for tea and for hot drinks in general after I'd
discovered that my mother had been poisoned by tea laced with vampire
blood.I had been tricked into drinking
some of the stuff myself, and the memory of it was an unpleasant one.But if drinking some tea would make GM
happy, then I would go along with it.

In the
kitchen, GM waved me to a seat, and she put the kettle on.Then she sat down across from me and gave me
a level gaze.We sat like that for
several moments, and I began to shift uncomfortably under her steady stare.

"GM,
let's—"

"Not
just yet, Solnyshko.Wait for the
tea."

"Would
you mind looking in another direction for a few moments, then?" I
asked."You're making me
nervous."

GM gave me
a wry smile."My apologies,
Solnyshko."She rose."I need to get the tea things out
anyway."

GM got out
her blue-and-white china teacups—the same ones she had used on the night that
Galina Golovnin and her son, Aleksandr, had shown up on our doorstep to warn us
that Gleb Mstislav would soon be after me.GM had not believed them and had thrown them out.

But they
had been right.

Soon the
kettle was whistling, and GM poured out for us.I gazed into the golden depths of the tea reluctantly.I knew it was chamomile, and I knew it was
untainted, but I couldn't help thinking again of the poisoned tea my cousin
Odette had given me.

I shivered.

GM glanced up
at me."Are you cold,
Solnyshko?"

I gave her
a reassuring smile."No.I was just thinking.You know how sometimes a memory steals over
you and catches you in a funny way?"

"I do
indeed," GM replied.

She sipped
at her tea and gave me a look over the rim of her cup.Then she set it down with decision.

"Katie,
I know we both have things to say, and I hope you don't mind if I go
first."

"Go
ahead," I said.

"Thank
you."GM paused for a moment."Do you remember what I said to you in
Tblisi?I promised you that when that
whole terrible business was over, that we would do some proper traveling?"

"I
remember," I said.

GM took a
deep breath, as if she were gathering courage."What do you think about spending Christmas in Russia?"

I didn't
know what I had been expecting, but that was not it.

Several
memories flashed through my mind—all of them terrifying.

"Christmas
in Russia?" I said.

"Yes."GM nodded her head in an encouraging
fashion.

"In
Krov?" I asked.

"Yes."

My head
began to spin a little.I loved
Russia—I really did.It was the country
of my birth, and I thought it was beautiful.But going back to Krov seemed dangerous at this point—especially since I
had just met two vampires who wanted me to do exactly that.

"Why
do you want to go to Krov for Christmas?" I asked."Does it have something to do with all
the letters?"

"Letters?"
GM asked innocently.

"Yes,
GM," I said."Letters like
the one you were reading in your office just now.I've seen you with them before—and the envelopes always have a
lot of foreign stamps on them."

"Ah,
yes.It appears you have sharp eyes,
Solnyshko.You don't have anything to
be concerned about.The letters are not
from anyone you know."

"Who
are they from?"

GM shook
her head."Sometimes a grandmother
needs to keep some things to herself.Do not distress yourself over the letters, Katie."

I decided
to give up.Once GM decided she wasn't
going to talk about something, she very seldom changed her mind.I stared back down at my tea.

"Solnyshko,
forgive me," GM said, "but you do not seem very excited about going
to Krov.I thought you would be
happy.I thought we might go to Moscow,
too.You would love all of the
beautiful buildings in the great square.St. Basil's Basilica is a wonder in person."

I tried to
think of how to put my thoughts into words, but what I wanted to say seemed to
need more diplomacy than I was able to summon at the moment.I wanted to tell GM that I wished she would
tell me what was going on and who had written the letters.I wanted to tell her that I had nearly died
in Krov, and it was full of bad memories.I wanted to tell her that we couldn't go back to Krov because the
village was crawling with vampires—and some of those vampires were eager for my
return.But the right words just
wouldn't come—especially for the last part.How could I hint at a danger that I wasn't allowed to name?

GM leaned
forward."What is it that is
troubling you, Solnyshko?Are you
worried about not having a visa?If
that is the case, then you need worry no longer.I have already obtained visas for both of us.We can fly directly into Russia."

I was
startled.When we had gone to Russia in
October, we had actually had to fly into Georgia and sneak across the border
because Russia required a visa for U.S. visitors while Georgia did not.If GM had visas for us already, then she had
been planning the trip for some time now and had never mentioned it to me.

I felt a
twinge of frustration.I knew GM was
sincere when she said that, and to be fair, the reason she gave was a perfectly
good one.But I couldn't shrug off a
suspicion that that wasn't all there was to it.Then again, I wondered—what exactly was it that I suspected GM
of?I really didn't know.

"Where
are you thinking of staying in Krov?" I asked."Odette's house?"

GM gave me
a sharp look."So is that what is
troubling you?Your poor cousin?I can understand that it must be hard for
you.It is hard for me, too,
Solnyshko.You loved Odette and so did
I.And hope is not lost entirely.People have been restored to their families
after going missing for years, and Odette has only been gone a few months.We may yet see her again."

Seeing
Odette again was one of the things I was worried about—as William had told
Innokenti, it was entirely possible that Odette would return.She had gone missing.But she was not lost in the way that GM
thought she was—in the way that an ordinary human girl would be lost.Odette had become a vampire, and in October
she had tried to kill me.She had
disappeared after that, and her house in Krov had been left vacant.If we settled ourselves into her house at
Christmas, who was to say that she wouldn't return and resent our
presence?I had seen Odette when she
was angry—it was a truly terrifying sight.

So, Odette
might come for me, and so might Innokenti and Anton—in fact, I had a pretty definite
feeling that the last two would.If I
went to Krov for Christmas, would I ever be allowed to leave again?Would I even survive whatever Innokenti and
his fellow vampires had planned?

"GM,
do we have to go to Russia for Christmas?" I asked uncomfortably.

GM's face
fell."I am forgetting how hard
that trip was for you, aren't I?Not
only did you lose your cousin, but you were kidnapped by that madman who used
to be your teacher.And then you were
in the hospital.I am sorry,
Solnyshko.We do not have to go to
Russia for Christmas."

I was sorry
to see how disappointed GM looked.I
could tell that she'd really had her heart set on going to Russia—but such a
trip would be dangerous, and there was no way I could explain that to her.

"I'm
sorry, GM," I said."I just
don't think I can do it."

GM reached
across the table and patted my hand."It is all right, Solnyshko.I hadn't quite realized how difficult this would be for you.We will not go."

"Now,"
GM said briskly, as if she'd completely banished the topic from her mind,
"I believe you said you had something to tell me, too?"

Suddenly, I
felt even worse.First, I'd ruined GM's
Christmas plans.Now I was about to
give her more bad news.

I had
developed no clever plan of attack, so I decided just to plunge ahead.

"Do
you remember William Sursur?" I asked."He got us out of the house that night when we were forced to flee
to the airport.And he got me out of
the Mstislav crypt in Krov.He also
came to see us at the house in Krov right before we left."

GM's
expression grew carefully blank.I knew
that look—it was one she wore whenever I brought up a topic she didn't want to
discuss.It was as I had feared—GM did
not approve of William.

"I
remember that he was very handsome," GM said.

"He
meant a lot to me, GM."

"I
also remember that he said the two of you could not be together.After all, he lives in Russia, and you live
here."

"That's
just it," I said."William
doesn't live in Russia anymore.He
lives here."

GM was
clearly startled."He lives here
in the United States?"

"He
lives here in Elspeth's Grove."

GM's
eyebrows rose."What is this that
you are telling me?"

"GM,
are you angry?"

"That
boy lives here now?He has followed
you?"

"Why
don't you like him?" I asked.

GM's voice
rose."You cannot see him.I don't want him in this house!"

"GM,
please!" I cried."He saved
both our lives!"

GM fell
silent.

"Why
don't you like him?" I asked again."What has he done?"

GM looked
away."I don't know anything about
him.And he appears to be mixed up in
some pretty dangerous things."

"Things
he was trying to stop," I said.

GM looked
at me."What exactly is it that
you want me to say?"

"Please
don't be like that, GM.William is here
in Elspeth's Grove.I like him.And he's really helped me.I want to see him.And if it's okay with you, I would like William to come over
here, so you can talk to him and see that he's a good person."

GM looked
down at her teacup, and she didn't say anything for a long time.I began to hope that she was wavering.

"There
is something in what you say," she said at last."You are a good girl.I suppose I can trust your judgment."

She looked
up at me again."I confess that I
don't entirely know my own mind in this case.Perhaps the problem is that I just don't want you getting any
older."

As I looked
at GM, I felt tears stinging my eyes."GM, you don't have to worry that you're going to lose me.You have to know that I will always love
you.Nothing will ever change
that."

GM stood
and walked around the table to me.

"I
know, Solnyshko.I will always love
you, too.I have been both your grandmother
and your mother.And it is sometimes
hard for a mother to see her child grow up."

I hugged
her back tightly.

GM
straightened up and brushed a hand over my hair.

"When
would you like your William to come over?"

I didn't
want to rush things, but I knew the appearance of Innokenti and Anton had made
it necessary for me to get William on good terms with GM as soon as
possible.

"Is
tomorrow okay?"

GM
blinked."Tomorrow?"

"I
know it's sudden—"

GM waved a
hand."It is all right,
Solnyshko.Invite him over for
dinner.I will make pasta.Everyone likes pasta."

"Thank
you, GM.Thanks for William and thanks
about Russia."

GM pressed
a kiss to my forehead."Anything
for you, Solnyshko."

GM cleared
away her cup and left the room.

I was left
with my full cup of tea and a sense of relief.I was very happy that William would be able to come over tomorrow—though
I realized that I didn't know if he actually ever ate anything or not.I supposed we would think of something if he
didn't.And now that GM would allow
William to be in the house, it made me feel a bit better about the fact that
Innokenti and Anton were lurking out there somewhere.I wished William had told me how he knew Anton.Anton seemed much more dangerous than
Innokenti—and Innokenti didn't seem safe.

I stood up
and poured my tea into the sink.I had
homework to do, but I wandered into the living room where I knew I would find a
picture of GM and my grandfather.

The picture
I was looking for stood on a table with other pictures of family and friends—a
number of them featuring me.Some of
the people were unknown to me, but the pictures of my parents and my
grandparents sat side by side next to one another right in the center.The picture of my parents was from their
wedding—my mother, pale and blond like me, my father just a little darker with
light brown curly hair.Both of them
were beaming, and my mother was holding a single flower.It was curious that no one else seemed to be
in attendance.

And then
there was the picture of my grandparents.

I picked
their photo up.My grandmother had been
blond when she was younger, as had my grandfather.They looked like a perfectly normal couple—it was hard to believe
that my grandfather had truly been one of the Sìdh.

As I looked
at my grandfather, I wondered what he was like.GM believed that he had died, but Galina told me that he still
lived and that he had gone back to his people.I wondered if he knew that GM lived in another country now, and if he
ever saw her—even if she didn't see him.GM didn't speak about him very much, but I knew that she had loved
him.And she'd told me that I would
have loved him too.

I set the
picture down and walked up the stairs to my room.

I did have
homework to do—if I could keep my mind on it.I told myself to firmly to forget about GM's letters.And I told myself not to think too much
about Anton and Innokenti.They hadn't
actually threatened me directly, and I knew William would watch over the
house.Maybe he was right—maybe the
presence of the two vampires in town was just a scare tactic.

I was still
just a little too wound up to get to work, so I wandered around the room,
straightening things up.As I walked
past my dresser and the large mirror over it, I thought I saw something moving
in the mirror—something that wasn't my own image.

I stopped,
startled, and peered into the mirror.I
saw only my own face and the room behind me.

I told
myself I hadn't actually seen anything out of the ordinary.

I shrugged
off my nerves and went to my desk, determined to finally get to work.

As I opened
my books, however, I couldn't help thinking of the mirror, and an image flashed
in my mind of what I had seen.